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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Home Made Pizza

Tonight was the first time I made home made pizza from "scratch."
Yesterday when we went grocery shopping I saw pizza dough and all the ingredients to make pizza. I went ahead and bought all of the ingredients: multi-grain dough, pizza sauce, shredded cheese and pepperoni.
Once again I didn't let them know what we were going to make a pizza because it was a SURPRISE!
But once I told them they were excited!

We began flattening the pizza dough which is A LOT harder than it seems I mean a lot...lol.
Then we piled the toppings on and put the pizzas in the oven after we of course made smiley faces with the olives that they wanted to add :)
Like always every opportunity is a learning one. So I explained to the children where pizza originated from and told them a bit about Italy and the culture.
It only took about 15-20 minutes for the pizza to be done at 375 degrees. I then let the pizza cool down and cut it into pieces. While I did this I showed the kids some pictures of Italy and showed them what continent Italy is in.
I didn't eat that much because I had a great work out earlier and didn't want to ruin it. ( I know I sound ridiculous, but hey summers around the corner)
I will definitely be making home made pizza again and try different combination's.
We used aluminum cookie sheets which actually worked out better because we ate off of them and it saved me from having to clean dishes and clean-up was a breeze.
I think that I want to try and have my daughter cook with me more often it gives us more time to bond, and helps her improve her motor skills and its FUN!
Maybe next time you want a pizza night try making a pizza with your family.
Its a great way to spend time together after a long day, easy clean up, can make for a great impromptu learning lesson and its WAY cheaper than a ordered pizza. The whole project cost me $15 dollars including the cookie sheets and I still have enough ingredients left over to make another one! Plus there was no wait or trying to decipher what the "specials" are, because they always say them so darn fast.
Making the pizza is also healthier because you can customize and choose healthier ingredients for you and your child. The dough we used was multi-grain, the pizza sauce was organic and there was no added oil! I also think that your child will enjoy eating something that he or she knows they made all by themselves! Some ideas you can try are:

Breaking the dough up so each person can make their own custom pizza

this is great for picky eaters or sharing the different varieties

Have your child count or add the pepperonis as they put them on for a quick math lesson

Make pizza when you teach your child about Italian culture

With the left overs you can make pizza rolls the next day or use it in your favorite dish

Little Chefs adding their cheese

Always time for a quick hug and love

Before the oven

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enjoying the fruits of our labor

﻿﻿﻿﻿ All in all the pizza making was fun and rewarding!
Try it out and let me know how it goes:)
Thank you again for reading and don't forget to check out my other blog: http://myfirstyearnyc.blogspot.com/